Ensembles: Opera

MSU Opera Theatre presented Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas Spring of 2007

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Creating the illusion of a rugged riverboat voyage down the Amazon may seem like a tall order to fill, but the MSU Opera Theatre made it happen by using a creative set design and lighting.

The Michigan State University College of Music presented Florencia en el Amazonas, sung in Spanish with English surtitles (like subtitles, but above the stage instead of below). The MSU presentation was both a university and Michigan premiere of the opera, having been performed only a few times in the United States. It was presented on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 1 at 3 p.m. in MSU’s Concert Auditorium. There were two separate student casts, ranging from freshmen to doctoral students in the leading roles. The MSU Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies was one of the supporters of the production.

The Web cast of the Sunday, April 1 performance was viewed by thousands of opera lovers around the world.

With music by Daniel Catán and the libretto by Marcela Fuentes-Berain, this opera is based
loosely on the writings of Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez. Catán uses a Latin-American literary style of magical realism. “Often the audience is not sure what is real,” says Opera Theatre Director Melanie Helton, “except perhaps for love.”

Directed by Helton and conducted by Raphael Jimenez, Florencia en el Amazonas detailed the nostalgic and mysterious journey of a legendary opera diva and her fellow passengers on a steamboat ride down the Amazon in the early 1900s. As they travel through the rainforest from Colombia to the Manaus Opera House in Brazil, the audience learns secrets about each passenger and gets a glimpse of their hopes and dreams.

“The passengers can be grouped into two types of characters,” says Helton, “people tied to the river itself and people who are more worldly.” Florencia herself is on a journey to find her long-lost lover, Cristobal, the inspiration for her singing, continues Helton. After leaving him to travel to Europe to advance her singing career, he was lost in the Amazonian jungle while searching for a very rare butterfly. Florencia then cocooned herself for 20 years, only appearing in public on the stage. Her voyage to find Cristobal eventually leads to her own ethereal transformation.

Other passengers on the steamboat include RioLobo, a creature of the earth who can speak to the spirits of the river; the Captain, a man of the world who is sensitive to human behavior; Rosalba and Arcadio, young characters searching for both freedom and a reason to be together; and Paula and Alvaro, an old and embittered couple until the possibility of death causes them to understand the love and passion of their long marriage. As they face storms, cholera, and life and death decisions, the passengers begin to reveal their secret hopes of what the trip will bring.

The composer, Catán, was in residence at MSU during the final week of rehearsals and throughout the run of the opera.

"The MSU mounting of Florencia en el Amazonas can be considered a 'student
production' only if one looks at the ages of the participants," said Catán after his experience at MSU. "In every other respect it was a fully professional presentation that exuded dignity, joy and conviction. A most memorable experience. Bravo!"